The architecture of humanism; a study in the history of taste

i84 THE ARCHITECTUREOF HUMANISM

between the conceptionandthe

technique.

In the

archaicstage, techniqueisasaruleadequateto
the

conception, andno

more: ithasnolifeofits

own

;

it is noend in itself. And the period of so-called

decadence,sofarfromshowingadeclineoftechnique

—as the organism shows a decline ofcapacity—is

often marked by a superabundance of technical

resources, whichstifletheconception. The

atrophy

is one of ideas. Our judgment, then, will have

shifteditsground: itwillhaveestimatedoneperiod

by

itstechnique,andanother

byitsconception. And,

,

beyond
this, it

often

falsifies bothby relating eadi

ofthemtotheaestheticpurposesofthe

'

climax'that

came between. In recent yearsit is
truetheinde-

pendentvalue ofarchaicarthas receivedasudden

recognition. To that extent the biological

fallacy

—

^at

any

rate

in painting

and sculpture-^has been

checked. But then a corresponding injustice is

usually done to the later phases. For the
critic's

determinationtotake
a

comprehensive

view,tousie

inclusive formulas, and to trace an evolutionary

sequencebeyonditsproperlimits,stillcauses

himtp

readthewholeseriesofhisfacts

asrelatedtoasingle

ideal. Such an attitude had compensation when

thetraditionofarchitecturewasalive,and
tastewas

limitedtoadueappreciation
ofcontemporarythings.;;

forthenappreciationwasso
far

perfect,andthepast

wasmerelyignored. Tastewas
specialisedatevery